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As a neutral, aside from patches here and there, the series hasn't been that special. Sure the Aussies surprised everyone with their fight, still don't think it was so good that you'd put it above others. Results have been quite one sided.

Fight to the finish between the #1 and the #2 teams for the Mace. Even yesterday Australia were a bit ahead. The partnership between Jadeja (world's best bowler) and Saha (world's best clutch wk- batsman) was the beginning of the end for them.

M World's top rated batsmen (Smith and Pujara) and bowlers (Jadeja, Ashwin and Hazelwood) duking it out. Add to that super genuine fast bowling by Yadav at the very end of the series. Lots of passion spiced with a touch of drama and controversy. After this is over the players can be friends again and play on the same team in the IPL. Cricket doesn't get better than this.

Yet is probably the most narcissitic cricketer in the Indian ranks. Rattles off his numbers in every interview. Seemed to be almost KP'ish when he said 'fabulous season', 'absolute dream' to take 81 wickets (82 actually) in a home season, blah blah! someone should show him the stats of him vs Lyon this series and how Lyon has comfortably out-bowled him.

I agree he was good in SL 2015 and that one off test in Ban and then the WI/NZ series, but either he is burnt up completely after the workload, or is carrying an injury. He doesn't seem to be half the bowler he was at the start of the series. Kumble should talk to him. Add to that his pathetic fitness and catching!

"Don't get attached to anything you're not willing to walk out in 30 seconds" Neil McCauley, Heat

Yet is probably the most narcissitic cricketer in the Indian ranks. Rattles off his numbers in every interview. Seemed to be almost KP'ish when he said 'fabulous season', 'absolute dream' to take 81 wickets (82 actually) in a home season, blah blah! someone should show him the stats of him vs Lyon this series and how Lyon has comfortably out-bowled him.

I agree he was good in SL 2015 and that one off test in Ban and then the WI/NZ series, but either he is burnt up completely after the workload, or is carrying an injury. He doesn't seem to be half the bowler he was at the start of the series. Kumble should talk to him. Add to that his pathetic fitness and catching!

He is suffering from a long season, he also had sports hernia which he hasn't fully recovered from which can be seen from his fielding. Ashwin has bowled something like 700 overs this game not included in last 6-8 months. Personally i feel ashwin should be told to stay out of this year's ipl. He needs a long rest.

Yet is probably the most narcissitic cricketer in the Indian ranks. Rattles off his numbers in every interview. Seemed to be almost KP'ish when he said 'fabulous season', 'absolute dream' to take 81 wickets (82 actually) in a home season, blah blah! someone should show him the stats of him vs Lyon this series and how Lyon has comfortably out-bowled him.

I agree he was good in SL 2015 and that one off test in Ban and then the WI/NZ series, but either he is burnt up completely after the workload, or is carrying an injury. He doesn't seem to be half the bowler he was at the start of the series. Kumble should talk to him. Add to that his pathetic fitness and catching!

This is based on his post match interview today?

Really?

That was the most humble version I have ever seen of him. Complimented others by name, kept mentioning about Jaddu's batting today, mentioned he could have got a 100, kept talking about Aus attack throughout the season, our pace attack, etc.

So just because he said this has been a fabulous season for him, he is a narcissist (which he may or may not be but asking based on this video)?

What is he supposed to say? Talk about his injury and create a controversy now.

The Indian management which rested Kohli for a crucial do or die game is playing Ash for every single game even though he has publicly mentioned about his injury before and looks woeful on the field.

Yes, this guy deserves absolute criticism for the catch he dropped and the way he was making it look like it was a tough catch (I am waiting to see whether he pulls out of IPL or not)....but if you see, he could hardly bend (horrible fielding throughout the series) and yet he almost matched every spinner in terms of taking wickets (Lyon did outbowl him but didn't strike at the right moments) and in fact turned up in crucial moments of this series to swing it in our favour (fingers crossed - still not over).

That was the most humble version I have ever seen of him. Complimented others by name, kept mentioning about Jaddu's batting today, mentioned he could have got a 100, kept talking about Aus attack throughout the season, our pace attack, etc.

So just because he said this has been a fabulous season for him, he is a narcissist (which he may or may not be but asking based on this video)?

What is he supposed to say? Talk about his injury and create a controversy now.

The Indian management which rested Kohli for a crucial do or die game is playing Ash for every single game even though he has publicly mentioned about his injury before and looks woeful on the field.

Yes, this guy deserves absolute criticism for the catch he dropped and the way he was making it look like it was a tough catch (I am waiting to see whether he pulls out of IPL or not)....but if you see, he could hardly bend (horrible fielding throughout the series) and yet he almost matched every spinner in terms of taking wickets (Lyon did outbowl him but didn't strike at the right moments) and in fact turned up in crucial moments of this series to swing it in our favour (fingers crossed - still not over).

Good that I have your attention. No, my assessment of his narcissism is not based off of today's post match interview. It is based on quite a few interviews. I remember him rattling off his fifer count to Ravi and a couple of other twitter interactions (not to trolls, I think he responded back to an ex Aussie quick). Also unrelated to him, his wife somehow springs into action on twitter with #win hashtags whenever he does well and then goes missing from tests like Pune and Ranchi. It is mildly upsetting if you are a genuine cricket follower.

Anyway long story short, point being, I did give him credit for what he did, but this series he has easily been the fourth best spinner on tour. 82 wickets this season and yet he is not my player of the season.

I would like to see how many top order wickets he took this series (I genuinely dont know but recall quite a few cheap wickets). I am not asking him to create further controversy by talking about injury. He could have shown some humility and talked about areas of improvement and most importantly asked for being left out of England ODI series (may be he did, if he didn't then I think he should have IMO). Regarding IPL, I sincerely hope he and Kohli sit out.

"Don't get attached to anything you're not willing to walk out in 30 seconds" Neil McCauley, Heat

Yeah watching him bowl/ field it was clear he isn't 100% fit; in fact far from it

And why not? It's been brutal work!

Ash should not play IPL. He looked like a Zombie in the final Test. Clearly he had no legs and could barely bend. The way he was escorting the ball to the boundary was hilarious. Reminded me of how our 90's teams used to field.

Ash deserves the criticism he is getting for his fitness. But people have to realize that he was over bowled and burnt completely. Man deserves a break.

He is suffering from a long season, he also had sports hernia which he hasn't fully recovered from which can be seen from his fielding. Ashwin has bowled something like 700 overs this game not included in last 6-8 months. Personally i feel ashwin should be told to stay out of this year's ipl. He needs a long rest.

Yes I am aware of all that sir. Yes he has had a long season. For the record here are the stats for the season. Both he and Jaddu have bowled 300 + overs more than anyone else. Body will take a toll. Ashwin has to introspect and reassess and at the same time Jaddu is an unsung hero.

Ash should not play IPL. He looked like a Zombie in the final Test. Clearly he had no legs and could barely bend. The way he was escorting the ball to the boundary was hilarious. Reminded me of how our 90's teams used to field.

Ash deserves the criticism he is getting for his fitness. But people have to realize that he was over bowled and burnt completely. Man deserves a break.

I don't believe in being players' personal account! As long as they don't fix, it's none of my business what they do for side income

That was the most humble version I have ever seen of him. Complimented others by name, kept mentioning about Jaddu's batting today, mentioned he could have got a 100, kept talking about Aus attack throughout the season, our pace attack, etc.

So just because he said this has been a fabulous season for him, he is a narcissist (which he may or may not be but asking based on this video)?

What is he supposed to say? Talk about his injury and create a controversy now.

The Indian management which rested Kohli for a crucial do or die game is playing Ash for every single game even though he has publicly mentioned about his injury before and looks woeful on the field.

Yes, this guy deserves absolute criticism for the catch he dropped and the way he was making it look like it was a tough catch (I am waiting to see whether he pulls out of IPL or not)....but if you see, he could hardly bend (horrible fielding throughout the series) and yet he almost matched every spinner in terms of taking wickets (Lyon did outbowl him but didn't strike at the right moments) and in fact turned up in crucial moments of this series to swing it in our favour (fingers crossed - still not over).

Originally Posted by EliteCynical

Good that I have your attention. No, my assessment of his narcissism is not based off of today's post match interview. It is based on quite a few interviews. I remember him rattling off his fifer count to Ravi and a couple of other twitter interactions (not to trolls, I think he responded back to an ex Aussie quick). Also unrelated to him, his wife somehow springs into action on twitter with #win hashtags whenever he does well and then goes missing from tests like Pune and Ranchi. It is mildly upsetting if you are a genuine cricket follower.

Anyway long story short, point being, I did give him credit for what he did, but this series he has easily been the fourth best spinner on tour. 82 wickets this season and yet he is not my player of the season.

I would like to see how many top order wickets he took this series (I genuinely dont know but recall quite a few cheap wickets). I am not asking him to create further controversy by talking about injury. He could have shown some humility and talked about areas of improvement and most importantly asked for being left out of England ODI series (may be he did, if he didn't then I think he should have IMO). Regarding IPL, I sincerely hope he and Kohli sit out.

Ok i took a look at his wickets. It is distributed between top and lower order. Can't say much. It is almost similar for Jadeja

Good that I have your attention. No, my assessment of his narcissism is not based off of today's post match interview. It is based on quite a few interviews. I remember him rattling off his fifer count to Ravi and a couple of other twitter interactions (not to trolls, I think he responded back to an ex Aussie quick). Also unrelated to him, his wife somehow springs into action on twitter with #win hashtags whenever he does well and then goes missing from tests like Pune and Ranchi. It is mildly upsetting if you are a genuine cricket follower.

Anyway long story short, point being, I did give him credit for what he did, but this series he has easily been the fourth best spinner on tour. 82 wickets this season and yet he is not my player of the season.

I would like to see how many top order wickets he took this series (I genuinely dont know but recall quite a few cheap wickets). I am not asking him to create further controversy by talking about injury. He could have shown some humility and talked about areas of improvement and most importantly asked for being left out of England ODI series (may be he did, if he didn't then I think he should have IMO). Regarding IPL, I sincerely hope he and Kohli sit out.

Steve Smith - 2 times
Warner - 3 times
Renshaw - 1 time
Handscomb - 3 times
Marsh Senior - 2 times
Marsh Junior - 1 time
Wade - 1 time
Maxwell - 2 times
Starc - 4 times (the one who changed Pune test with the bat and scared the crap out of us in the 2 tests he played)

Even in this test, he took more top order bats than Jaddu (took out the set Smith and Maxwell who would have changed the game completely the way they were batting). But Jaddu's performance was equally important cos impact and context matters too than just the what wicket someone takes (of course, in this series, Jaddu's bowling was next level compared to Ash).

In Bangalore, he took out free flowing Marsh (who was getting into grove), Wade and Starc to close out the game. Handscomb was just a bonus at the end.

Still think Ashwin was the worst bowler out of the 4 spinners?

I would rather have an underperforming impact wicket taker than a great looking non impact spinner.

Yes I am aware of all that sir. Yes he has had a long season. For the record here are the stats for the season. Both he and Jaddu have bowled 300 + overs more than anyone else. Body will take a toll. Ashwin has to introspect and reassess and at the same time Jaddu is an unsung hero.

Not this series though, most will tell you jadeja has been the better than ashwin. He can't really introspect and reassess though can he, his lack of performance is not down to some technical deficiency but rather his lack of full fitness, not just due to fatigue but also sports hernia, once he gets over that he will be back to his original self.

Steve Smith - 2 times
Warner - 3 times
Renshaw - 1 time
Handscomb - 3 times
Marsh Senior - 2 times
Marsh Junior - 1 time
Wade - 1 time
Maxwell - 2 times
Starc - 4 times (the one who changed Pune test with the bat and scared the crap out of us in the 2 tests he played)

Even in this test, he took more top order bats than Jaddu (took out the set Smith and Maxwell who would have changed the game completely the way they were batting). But Jaddu's performance was equally important cos impact and context matters too than just the what wicket someone takes (of course, in this series, Jaddu's bowling was next level compared to Ash).

In Bangalore, he took out free flowing Marsh (who was getting into grove), Wade and Starc to close out the game. Handscomb was just a bonus at the end.

Still think Ashwin was the worst bowler out of the 4 spinners?

I would rather have an underperforming impact wicket taker than a great looking non impact spinner.

Ok- I am not sure we both are on the same page. I started out mentioning that he did well but not as well as he claims to be and has certainly deteriorated.

I am not expecting him to take a fifer every game but I don't know what you mean by impact wickets. His average against smith is 69 and Renshaw 63 which is telling. Only shaun marsh and to an extent Warner seem to have been his bunny. Heck even Starc averages 30 against him. So this tells me that if he is not taking wickets, he is not able to tie a batsman down, something which Jaddu does or Lyon does or O Keefe has done. So gives me a feeling that he is a 'good poor wicket bowler' and a 'poor good wicket bowler' (atleast off late)

Again, i retracted from the 'cheap wickets' comment with my next post saying exactly what you mentioned and I even said I did not have stats off hand.

So my grouse is clear - Loads of wickets yes and kudos to him, but massively disappointed this series against a team with poor reputation vs Spin, Much less revs on the ball as compared to Lyon & on top of it shows a callous attitude towards fitness and catching. I believe he needs to introspect a lot. I don't want to start the 'away from home' debate, but I fear deep down!

"Don't get attached to anything you're not willing to walk out in 30 seconds" Neil McCauley, Heat

Not this series though, most will tell you jadeja has been the better than ashwin. He can't really introspect and reassess though can he, his lack of performance is not down to some technical deficiency but rather his lack of full fitness, not just due to fatigue but also sports hernia, once he gets over that he will be back to his original self.

We will see. I hope he does well, but I again hope he realizes he was out bowled by the opposition spinner and for the number one bowler it is something to introspect.

"Don't get attached to anything you're not willing to walk out in 30 seconds" Neil McCauley, Heat

Day 1 after lunch when Aussies were cruising at 141 for 1, Rahane's captaincy turned the match.
Brought on Kuldeep from one end and rotated fast bowlers from other end. Didn't allow Aussie batsmen to settle and took 5 wickets in the session. India won the match there.

Sarfi as captain'll lead us to glory.Babar'll be our best odi bat & Haris'll be world class in tests

Ok- I am not sure we both are on the same page. I started out mentioning that he did well but not as well as he claims to be and has certainly deteriorated.

I am not expecting him to take a fifer every game but I don't know what you mean by impact wickets. His average against smith is 69 and Renshaw 63 which is telling. Only shaun marsh and to an extent Warner seem to have been his bunny. Heck even Starc averages 30 against him. So this tells me that if he is not taking wickets, he is not able to tie a batsman down, something which Jaddu does or Lyon does or O Keefe has done. So gives me a feeling that he is a 'good poor wicket bowler' and a 'poor good wicket bowler' (atleast off late)

Again, i retracted from the 'cheap wickets' comment with my next post saying exactly what you mentioned and I even said I did not have stats off hand.

So my grouse is clear - Loads of wickets yes and kudos to him, but massively disappointed this series against a team with poor reputation vs Spin, Much less revs on the ball as compared to Lyon & on top of it shows a callous attitude towards fitness and catching. I believe he needs to introspect a lot. I don't want to start the 'away from home' debate, but I fear deep down!

1. I don't think anyone believes Ashwin bowled upto his usual level. Not even him. Not sure why you are taking stuff literally. Maybe you expected him to be more forthcoming in his interview which he wasn't and that annoyed you. That's fair enough.

2. Reg impact wickets - You can't look at stuff the way you are looking. That's like a very crazy way to use stats.

Impact wickets means

1. Wickets of CRUCIAL BATSMEN who are in control of the game
2. Wickets at crucial moments

For example, Jaddu took Pat Cummins and Lyon (I think) late in the day. Those are technically useless wickets cos anyone could have got them out eventually but in the game context, even 20-30 runs more could be dangerous so they become MORE USEFUL wickets than usual. More so when Pat Cummins was blocking comfortably and tiring our spinners.

Same way, Ashwin taking Smith or Maxwell in this test eventually has been the difference between an easy win (hopefully) and a painful loss. Smith (first innings) and Maxy (2nd innings) across 2 innings could have easily added 100 more runs which would have taken the game out of India's reach.

No one cares how much Ashwin averages against Smith when he got him out in the first test first innings, first test second innings (twice but both dollies dropped) and this test. Overall, Smith has destroyed Ash the way he played which no one will dispute.

Starc averages 30 against Ashwin (not him alone but overall in this series) but what does he average against others? Infinity cos he didn't even get out to anyone and smashed in form Jaddu a few times.

Context.

Look at the crucial moments in this series:

Bangalore: Ash gets Warner out who started off great. The moment that wicket fell, our bowlers could relax and plan for the rest of the wickets patiently cos others won't take the game away from you. Then pacers do the job and bring Aus down. Then Marsh strikes 3 boundaries and momentum is back with Aus before Ash strikes and takes all of 3. The moment he took Starc out, India heaved a sigh of relief cos THAT signified the game even though Handscomb was still there.

Same way this test: Handscomb is known to stick around. Maxwell had smashed Kuldeep out of the attack. They were scoring runs and to take both of them out meant India put a complete lid on run control and slowly prise out the rest which we did.

That's impact bowling.

If Ashwin was a poor good wicket bowler, he wouldn't average 20 with 54 wickets in the first 7 tests of this "14 test season" played on a variety of Indian pitches.

As for your grouse, I don't get it and I will leave it at that. If you are not well, you can't perform like you usually do. As long as he is not deluded that he is bowling perfectly fine, its ok.

Well, I am sure by now the Indians are flying higher than a Kite today .... and they should. Hold on though .... Test is not won yet, and stranger things HAVE happened in a Test Match, not that I wish, but until the last run is scored, the Indian players are going to be slightly nervous ... fair enough. The Indians bowled really well yesterday, rather than Australians batted poorly. I think Smith got a rush of blood and played a poor shot, other than that most of the outs were just overpowered by the bowling !!!!

1. I don't think anyone believes Ashwin bowled upto his usual level. Not even him. Not sure why you are taking stuff literally. Maybe you expected him to be more forthcoming in his interview which he wasn't and that annoyed you. That's fair enough.

2. Reg impact wickets - You can't look at stuff the way you are looking. That's like a very crazy way to use stats.

Impact wickets means

1. Wickets of CRUCIAL BATSMEN who are in control of the game
2. Wickets at crucial moments

For example, Jaddu took Pat Cummins and Lyon (I think) late in the day. Those are technically useless wickets cos anyone could have got them out eventually but in the game context, even 20-30 runs more could be dangerous so they become MORE USEFUL wickets than usual. More so when Pat Cummins was blocking comfortably and tiring our spinners.

Same way, Ashwin taking Smith or Maxwell in this test eventually has been the difference between an easy win (hopefully) and a painful loss. Smith (first innings) and Maxy (2nd innings) across 2 innings could have easily added 100 more runs which would have taken the game out of India's reach.

No one cares how much Ashwin averages against Smith when he got him out in the first test first innings, first test second innings (twice but both dollies dropped) and this test. Overall, Smith has destroyed Ash the way he played which no one will dispute.

Starc averages 30 against Ashwin (not him alone but overall in this series) but what does he average against others? Infinity cos he didn't even get out to anyone and smashed in form Jaddu a few times.

Context.

Look at the crucial moments in this series:

Bangalore: Ash gets Warner out who started off great. The moment that wicket fell, our bowlers could relax and plan for the rest of the wickets patiently cos others won't take the game away from you. Then pacers do the job and bring Aus down. Then Marsh strikes 3 boundaries and momentum is back with Aus before Ash strikes and takes all of 3. The moment he took Starc out, India heaved a sigh of relief cos THAT signified the game even though Handscomb was still there.

Same way this test: Handscomb is known to stick around. Maxwell had smashed Kuldeep out of the attack. They were scoring runs and to take both of them out meant India put a complete lid on run control and slowly prise out the rest which we did.

That's impact bowling.

If Ashwin was a poor good wicket bowler, he wouldn't average 20 with 54 wickets in the first 7 tests of this "14 test season" played on a variety of Indian pitches.

As for your grouse, I don't get it and I will leave it at that. If you are not well, you can't perform like you usually do. As long as he is not deluded that he is bowling perfectly fine, its ok.

Point number 1 - Totally agree. That is one of my main problems.

Regarding impact wickets, I dont think Ashwin planned most of those wickets. They all landed on his lap due to the batsmen's fault or error in judgement. He even got lucky with DRS (Warner in Bangalore and Maxwell in Dharmashala 2nd innings). Starc out slogging, after pretty much taking the game and
Smith - got out in Bangalore first innings to a good piece of bowling and captaincy, otherwise in Dhramashala, he just snicked a straight ball. Nothing i can give credit to Ash for. Let us not talk about Warner.

The only time I saw him in the series trying to take wickets was in Bangalore 2nd innings where he implemented the top spinner. Other than that he was pretty much landing the ball with so less revs.

Also, you know he is not in form when he starts bowling leg spin or carrom ball more often than not.

I would like to see that Ashwin who planned and took the wickets of Sanga, AB, Williamson and Cook in this season and last. I thought that Ashwin went missing.

I said Ashwin is a 'poor good wicket bowler' at least OFF LATE. I am surprised at the dip in form and secondly I am surprised he is not doing much to rectify any holes that might have come up. I agree workload, fitness etc etc, but he is an international cricketer and that should have been taken care of.

We can agree to disagree. I want the Ash of 2015 back, i just feel he was too desparate this series and thought this would be a cakewalk.

"Don't get attached to anything you're not willing to walk out in 30 seconds" Neil McCauley, Heat

Sif u check manjrekars Cricinfo interview where he says that Jadeja will be a better option in outside tours and he says he is not convinced that ashwin will be successful outside of india.

From what i saw of kuldeep he has better control and will be a better bet than Ashwin as he is a wrist spinner .

I am afraid if ash continues his rubbish form and his horrible attitude to fitness, fielding and catching he will fade soon.

His fielding is atrocious to say the least and his catching has become comical.

Jarrod kimber is making fun of ash fielding. He is not able to even bend down and stop the ball.

What do u make of nair? His batting has been a collosal disappointment. His slip catching and fielding is even worse. His game against pace is too poor also

I know this q is for SIF, but couldn't help to say that that is my main worry. The fall is gonna be so hard, that there may not be a comeback and Ash should know of all people.

Regarding Kuldeep, it is early days, but if he can maintain control, he would be my number one bowler abroad coz he would have the most chances of taking wickets. I hope Ash did listen to what Jarrod Kimber had to say.

Nair - Sigh, I think he has played his last test for a long long time. Sad to see him fade away. That 300 was a beautiful innings. Wish cook had caught him on 34.

"Don't get attached to anything you're not willing to walk out in 30 seconds" Neil McCauley, Heat

Well, I am sure by now the Indians are flying higher than a Kite today .... and they should. Hold on though .... Test is not won yet, and stranger things HAVE happened in a Test Match, not that I wish, but until the last run is scored, the Indian players are going to be slightly nervous ... fair enough. The Indians bowled really well yesterday, rather than Australians batted poorly. I think Smith got a rush of blood and played a poor shot, other than that most of the outs were just overpowered by the bowling !!!!

I don't think moderate followers/fans are celebrating already. We all are cautious and mindful of the glorious uncertainties this game has in store. If we lose this, I am done watching though!

"Don't get attached to anything you're not willing to walk out in 30 seconds" Neil McCauley, Heat

No need to play out dot balls here. If they would have gotten bogged down and then lost wickets, Australia would be on top. Right now, even if India lose two wickets playing their shots, they'll be too close to the target to do anything but win.

Defensive mindset caused the Pujara wicket in 1st inning and here too...he should be more confident for all his skills, this will cost him around 800-1000 career runs atleast. As for Vijay, he is just all at sea since last test match of Eng. The consistency and dependability of vijay rubbed off on Rahul I think.

No need to play out dot balls here. If they would have gotten bogged down and then lost wickets, Australia would be on top. Right now, even if India lose two wickets playing their shots, they'll be too close to the target to do anything but win.

Agree have to play shots but keep risks minimum.

You don't have to sky a ball off a top edge and bring in Nair into the crease.